Standards, Frameworks and Practices in Health Management Information and Evaluation Systems (HMIES) in Australia and India: Lessons for Future Transition in India?

India has a long history of the Health Management Information and Evaluation System (HMIES). Though it has well served its purpose of administrative reporting, however, it has failed to provide relevant and sufficient information to users of health services, planners and policy makers as available information is fragmented, incomplete and sometimes inconsistent. The National Health Policies of 1983 and 2002 and the National Statistical Commission of India 2005 have laid down clear benchmarks for HMIES. In spite of several efforts in the past, the national HMIES does not fully conform to ‘International Data Quality Frameworks, Systems and Standard Practices’. In this article, efforts are made to compare information collection and governance system, its standardization and extent of utilization for decision-making in Australia and India and give recommendations to transform our national HMIES to be compatible with international standards, frameworks and practices.